Russian telecoms billionaire Vladimir Evtushenkov has been placed under house arrest on suspicion of money laundering.
Evtushenkov is one of the top 200 wealthiest people in the world and the 18th richest man in Russia, with an estimated fortune of $6.9 billion (£4.2bn), according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index.
The telecoms oligarch is the founder and largest shareholder of Moscow-based Sistema, which owns Russia’s largest mobile operator Mobile TeleSystems among other investments.
Yevtushenkov is accused of money laundering in connection with the alleged theft of shares in oil assets in Russia’s southern Bashkortostan region, according to the Investigative Committee of Russia.
His arrest caused shares in Sistema to plunged 30% on Wednesday, wiping more than $2.5 billion (£1.5bn) off the face of the company within hours and causing the Moscow Stock Exchange to temporarily suspend trading in the stocks. Bashneft’s shares also plummtted 20%, causing trading to be temporarily restricted.
Evtushenkov’s arrest raises fears of previous Russian state asset grabs over the last decade, such as the decade-long jailing for former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky. It also comes at a time when investor confidence in Russia has been damaged by the sanctions imposed by the the US and EU after Russian military actions in eastern Ukraine.
